Degradation of average player skill: why the Scenario system rework is urgently needed

[Hazmy]

The unusable base UI is a big factor to the lack of player skill that hasn't been brought up yet, and one I'd argue could do more from a dev standpoint to improve player skill than even fixing scenarios. New players being expected to know about, find, download, and configure UI addons for a game they have only just started is totally ridiculous, and many will never cross that barrier to entry. It's simply not possible to play this game (especially for tanks) without some base addons. The in-game knowledge that things like guardpack, buffhead, enemy, etc., passively provide cannot be underestimated in a player's ability to play their class. How many more DPS would assist if the /setassist /assist macros were placed on the player bar at level 1 just as guard and rez are now?

I know the devs don't want to incorporate UI addons into the base game as no one wants the responsibility of maintaining it, but if the team is willing to maintain every other aspect of the game, why leave something as important as UI out of that? Isn't UI just as much a part of the game as anything else?

While I do agree that the base UI is not enough to play the game on a decent level, I do think this is not a Developer issue and the responsibility should not be shifted upon them this time. Take World of Warcraft as an example, it is another MMO that requires tons of external tools or addons to play properly but that game does not have the issue of its players refusing to do so, or at least it's generally more accepted there that you do need them.

Though the website on the other hand is HEAVILY neglected and not developed - where they could easily highlight community created guides, videos and the countless resources that help players get into the game - but for some reason this is not priority, despite the incredibly low amount of effort and hours it requires to do this. The RoR Team has a history of only promoting what they work on - and ignore what their community contributes to the server.

Scenarios have degraded player skill level over the years as OP has said but more importantly that is not being said and stressed enough here - it has also degraded player mentality and perception on the server. It is more and more acceptable to ignore your career's mechanics, to play incorrect specs in incorrect gamemodes, to not research fundamental mechanics, to not use Morales, Guard, players giving incredibly bad tips in /advice chat and so on and so forth... climaxing with the "Just Blob up" solution. Then you don't have to learn anything.

Setting up addons, which are available to everyone and we have dozens of guides how to do them - is a player responsibility, and that standard should be upheld by the community, just like a lot of other things should be upheld - but instead the majority at the moment is leaning more into the so called "toxic casual" mindset of encouraging people to play worse and worse, and applaud it very loudly, instead of pushing people to at least play on a basic level that the game asks you to.
No, not the Elitist players asking you to - a gameplay level the GAME ITSELF, as Mythic made it, expecting you to perform on.

So yes overall, this topic is pretty important and it's far more than just SCs or RvR Balance as it is affecting the general player mentality that takes years to shift to a different direction.

[Barracuuda]

I am a player with more than 13 years of experience, and I agree or disagree with the first post, but I agree that the 98% decline in skill is noticeable even compared to the situation 2-3 years ago.
As a veteran, I also play a lot of scenarios, it's like a legacy of the past, and I really like this system invented by Mythic, where even a noob is allowed to show his individual abilities, with the right to make mistakes, and the key thing for me and many people going to scenarios is going for skills, adrenaline, new zest, and most importantly, to measure skills with good players in a fairly friendly environment (without 1000,500 zerg from the bushes, etc.).
But it's become common, I stand in line for 4-6 hours and not a SC. I've been thinking for a long time and a lot that changes are needed and it's better to return to the old one, that the system is broken, the scripts in today's state are so "refined" (in quotes) that even for me, an old player who has seen a lot, it is very difficult to get what was originally intended in the original. And the overall level of the players is so low that sometimes the nerves can't stand the sight and incredible stupidity of the allies, who are somehow dressed in top sets and 80+)


I have a few thoughts and I will add them below so as not to make it impossibly cumbersome. And I'm sorry for a lot of text.
Thank you all

[Barracuuda]

And this disease and degradation does not come from players or noobs, its roots are in the general approach- mixed tiers, a general change of ALL classes with a focus on simplicity and 3 buttons (AOE, went into Zerg, Died and And in a circle first), and the reward system for receiving RENOWN and CRESTS- note that now RR is given to everyone equally if you It doesn't matter if your useful actions are in the blob(conclusion- it's very pragmatic to play in the herd, I don't condemn the system itself forces you to choose it if you (noob / whatever), but not a fool)- you'll get it even if you don't do anything- AND THAT's the main EVIL !!! <in my opinion
(the old experience/reward distribution system forced players to play just usefully, and the amount of RR received by the player directly depended on his useful actions, it doesn't matter if he is a healer or a DPS) now the usual leveling is that RR was distributed equally to everyone in the group /WB, someone puffed up and went out of their way and really got RR for the team and someone was sleeping !!And I got it too!!!<<

>>>the scenarios were a way out to get both skill and profit (crests/RENOWN), but even there the entire drop (RR/crest) was leveled down to a fixed ridiculous figure of 2k RENOWN+/- or what and some incomprehensible crumbs for activity divided into all the groups involved in the scenarios and it doesn't matter where they are and what they are doing!!!!
As an Example:>> 1 player made kills/>RR and risked / it was useful to heal one HEALER (but for some reason they(1dps+heal) split and got the same with other clowns who were just somewhere out there (running or interfering with enemy healers, etc.) or on respawn.
I hope you understand what I'm getting at.

my suggestion 1)
is to make changes to the RR/Crosses received on the SCenarios, if you really did a lot of Killing/useful Healing/Guardings, then get a real fat and good reward, adequate Renown/Crosses figures and share it ONLY with those who participated in it. And if return the original numbers, you/ppls can get 15k -20000 thousand or more as it was in the original / and not by 136 +356+220+133 etc >>>
! This will be the first incentive to play correctly and participate in the game and in obtaining the RR/Crest.